Jane Austen and Clergymen (Or When Assumptions Are Made in High School English)

Mr. Collins in the 1995 miniseries of Pride and Prejudice.

It's been a long time since doing a post like this. I've been in a bit of a state of writer's block (and suggestions for posts are welcome!), but then this popped into my head and I thought it would make a great post!

So, one day, I recalled my junior year British Literature class in high school. We were reading Pride and Prejudice (something which I had already done, so I needn't worry -- I aced all my pop quizzes with little trouble) and we came upon the subject of Mr. Collins and how, interestingly enough, Jane Austen's own father was a clergyman. One of the students remarked that because of the representation of clergymen in Mr. Collins, Jane Austen must not have had a very good opinion of the profession.

I didn't say anything.

I probably could have. Should I have? Maybe. But nevertheless, I didn't. How could someone make an assumption on Jane Austen's opinion of clergymen based upon one character in one of her books? That would be like throwing out a notebook because of of the pages is ripped, right?

Clerical Observations
While we can't ask Jane herself what her opinion of clergymen was exactly, we can speculate what it could be. If you delve into Jane Austen's life a little bit, you will find that she was close to her father (a clergyman), attended Church regularly, and even wrote prayers. From this information, we can deduce that she was religious and followed the teachings of the Anglican Church, something that probably wouldn't happen if she didn't respect her father or his occupation. And through her father, she probably would have seen plenty of his colleagues (other clergymen) and, as she did with everyone, observed their behaviors, both good and bad. It's possible these good and bad observations made it into her books as various characters who are apart of the clergy.

Clergymen in Austen's Novels

Mr Elton in the 2009 miniseries of Emma.

Now, if we go beyond Pride and Prejudice, Jane had other clergymen characters in her other books. Aside from Mr. Collins in Pride and Prejudice, there is Mr. Elton from Emma, Dr. Grant and Edmund Bertram from Mansfield Park, Henry Tilney from Northanger Abbey, and aspiring clergyman Edward Ferrars from Sense and Sensibility. If you are familiar with Jane's other works, you will see that Mr. Collins isn't the only "bad" clergyman in the list:

• Mr. Elton is a fortune hunter and spiteful. He certainly isn't friendly with Emma after she rejected his marriage proposal, and let's not forget at the Highbury ball when purposely and obviously snubbed Harriet Smith for a dance as a way to humiliate both Harriet and Emma; not the actions of a gentleman to be sure.
• Dr. Grant is glutton (ironically, one of the seven deadly sins) who argues with his wife a lot (leaving his half-sister-in-law, Mary Crawford, to gain a bad opinion of clergymen altogether). 

So, certainly, any fan of Jane Austen cannot claim that Mr. Collins was a fluke and that he was the only "bad" clergyman in all of Jane Austen's novels because he certainly was not. But never fear: there are also "good" clergymen in Jane Austen's novels who are often ignored.

Henry Tilney in the 2007 TV Movie Northanger Abbey

• Edmund Bertram, despite his faults and the fact that he tends to be an unpopular hero, is a decent, moral, and honorable man. He was kind to his cousin, Fanny, when she first came to Mansfield Park when no one else was. 
• Henry Tilney has a good sense of humor, was witty and a good brother, and is kind to Catherine. 
• And Edward Ferrars, despite his faults as well, was still an honorable man. Even though he fell in love with Elinor and was no longer in love with Lucy Steele, he still kept his promise to Lucy. Even though he wasn't a clergyman until the epilogue, I'm going to include him in this list.

So, while there are some "bad" clergymen in Jane Austen's books, she does include a fair amount of "good clergymen" as well. What Jane Austen gave us was a wide range of clergymen: some to show what a clergyman should be and others to show what a clergyman should not be.

How Did We Get Here?

The Mr. Collins Wave

So how did this perception of Jane Austen and clergymen come about? My opinion is that it's due to the Austen books that are popular. Look at Jane's most popular books: Pride and Prejudice, Emma, and Persuasion (although Sense and Sensibility might also tie with Persuasion). Persuasion doesn't really have prominent characters that are clergymen (I almost want to say Captain Wentworth's brother and Charles Hayter were clergymen, but I'm not entirely sure -- but either way, they weren't big enough characters to form a decent opinion on). So, focusing on the top two popular Austen books -- Pride and Prejudice and Emma. Both Pride and Prejudice and Emma feature prominent characters who are clergymen that fall short of what a clergyman should be. The average reader/watcher of Jane Austen doesn't usually know about Henry Tilney or Edmund Bertram because the average reader/watcher has either not read or not heard of Northanger Abbey or Mansfield Park. And although there's Edward Ferrars is in Sense and Sensibility, another popular Austen novel, he isn't a clergyman for most of the book and his aspirations to the clergy are a small detail that, at the very least, movie watchers don't usually pick up on.

What do you think? Do you think the popularity of Pride and Prejudice and Emma are what leads casual Jane Austen fans to think Jane had a low opinion of clergymen? Or is there another issue? Have you noticed similar sentiments about Jane Austen's view of clergymen? Leave comments!

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 God Bless,

Guest Post by Charity: Spotlight -- Persuasion (2007)

Hey, y'all! I'm Charity, and I'm back with another movie spotlight! I posted earlier this week about myfirst one, so if you want background information, go check that post out. But for now...another movie spotlight! The movie this time?

Persuasion (2007)

Happy Birthday, Anne Elliot!

"ELLIOT OF KELLYNCH HALL.

"Walter Elliot, born March 1, 1760, married, July 15, 1784, Elizabeth, daughter of James Stevenson, Esq. of South Park, in the county of Gloucester, by which lady (who died 1800) he has issue Elizabeth, born June 1, 1785; Anne, born August 9, 1787; a still-born son, November 5, 1789; Mary, born November 20, 1791." ~Persuasion, Chapter 1

Anne Elliot, portrayed by Sally Hawkins

That's right! Today, August 9th, 2012, is Anne Elliot's 225th Birthday!

Reader Question #1: Jane Austen and Proposals

And in what I hope will be a good long line of Reader Question Posts, here is the first question that I received. This question came to me from Melody from Regency Delight. Melody asked:

Why exactly do you think Jane Austen didn't write proposal scenes in Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey, and Sense and Sensibility?

I can't really comment on Mansfield Park right now since I am very slowing (but surely!) reading through it (though I know a little about what happens at the end), but I can still comment on Northanger Abbey and Sense and Sensibility. This question brings to mind the following quote from Sense and Sensibility:

Proposal Scene from Sense and Sensibility (2008)

How soon he had walked himself into the proper resolution, however, how soon an opportunity of exercising it occurred, in what manner he expressed himself, and how he was received, need not be particularly told. This only need be said;—that when they all sat down to table at four o'clock, about three hours after his arrival, he had secured his lady, engaged her mother's consent, and was not only in the rapturous profession of the lover, but, in the reality of reason and truth, one of the happiest of men. (Chapter 49)

Proposal Scene from Northanger Abbey (2007): not
necessarily the way I pictured the proposal
in Northanger Abbey.

So, to answer the question directly, I think that Jane Austen didn't write a proposal scene for either Northanger Abbey and Sense and Sensibility because it simply wasn't necessary (it needed not to be particularly told). In Northanger Abbey and Sense and Sensibility, we as the reader know that Henry Tilney loves Catherine Morland (though she was kicked out of Northanger Abbey by General Tilney) and we know that Edward Ferrars, despite his engagement and supposed marriage to Lucy Steele, loves Elinor Dashwood. So, I think that by the end, we the reader can assume that if Henry Tilney or Edward Ferrars arrived to speak to Catherine or Elinor, that there could only be one reason why: to propose. There isn't a doubt in the mind of the reader that the hero holds a very, very high regard for the heroine, so there is no need to get into a lengthy proposal scene.

Compare that idea with Emma or Pride and Prejudice or even Persuasion.

Pride and Prejudice (1995)

In Pride and Prejudice, we know that Mr. Darcy declared his love for Elizabeth and made a proposal to her that was rejected because Elizabeth greatly disliked him. But then the story goes on and we see that Elizabeth has come to love Mr. Darcy. When Lydia creates scandal by eloping with Wickham, Elizabeth is sure that Mr. Darcy wouldn't renew his love to her and would not propose again. After all, he knows all about Lydia's scandal and went through all that trouble to fix it. Why would he involve himself with the Bennets that had a scandal that people actually heard about? Sure, his sister almost had a scandal herself, but it was hushed up and no one heard of it. So, when Elizabeth went walking with Mr. Darcy, she didn't think that he would renew his proposal to her. But lo and behold! he still loves Elizabeth and proposes marriage to which Elizabeth accepts!

Emma (2009)

In Emma, the last time that Emma saw Mr. Knightley before he proposed, Mr. Knightley was very angry with her for humiliating Miss Bates. Harriet said that she loved Mr. Knightley and that they talked quite a bit. Emma then realizes that she loves Mr. Knightley, but as Emma assumed (and the reader could/might assume too), Mr. Knightley wouldn't think of marrying her and that he would just marry Harriet Smith. In fact, even as the proposal scene starts, we might believe along with Emma that Mr. Knightley is going to tell her about marrying Harriet Smith. But, when the scene takes a turn and it turns out that Mr. Knightley loves Emma, we readers are assured that Mr. Knightley does not love Harriet, but loves Emma.

Persuasion Letter Scenes; image used in Persuasion Comparison guest post that I contributed to

Persuasion is a little more complicated. Captain Wentworth gives off a bunch of mixed signals to Anne to the point that neither she nor the reader knows what he plans to do. One minute, he's concerned about her walking too far and helps her into the Crofts carriage. Another minute, he completely ignores her for Louisa Musgrove. One minute, they're talking about how "a man does not recover from such a devotion of the heart to such a woman," at the concert, and then he leaves the concert early angrily. So in this case, we get some glimpse of Captain Wentworth's love for Anne, but at the same time, we see signs that he would not propose to her. So, in order to do away with any doubt, Captain Wentworth leaves the love letter for Anne that removes any doubt in her mind and in the mind of the reader.

In each case in Pride and Prejudice, Emma, and Persuasion, there is doubt in the mind of the heroine that the hero will not propose to her. And in each of the proposal scenes, the scene does not start out as a proposal scene, but rather a regular scene. In Emma, Mr. Knightley means to console Emma about Frank Churchill. In Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth thanks Mr. Darcy for fixing Lydia's scandal. And in Persuasion, Anne and Captain Wentworth were visiting the Musgroves. The proposal dialogue is in there not only to remove the doubt of the readers and the heroines, but to ease the scene into a proposal scene. It wouldn't make sense if Jane Austen said, "On a walk, Elizabeth thanked Mr. Darcy and Mr. Darcy renewed his declaration from a couple of months ago and they got engaged!" The reader would be left confused: "What? How did this happen? Weren't they just walking around? Wasn't Elizabeth just thanking him? How did a proposal come up?" So, by adding proposal dialogue into a scene, a scene can ease into a proposal scene instead of shocking the readers into a proposal that they didn't think was coming.

Now, on another idea, a special case for why Jane Austen didn't write a proposal scene for Sense and Sensibility could stem from the fact that Sense and Sensibility is a satire of the sentimental novel. You know the kind I'm talking about. Where a proposal could last pages and pages and be filled with flowery, overly mushy language to make anyone uncomfortable. So Jane Austen not having a proposal scene with dialogue could be her way of poking fun at the overly dramatic, romantic proposal scenes in other novels. Instead of a flowery proposal, Jane Austen gives a description of the outcome and keeps it short, sweet, and to the point: the actual details of the proposal aren't discussed.

So, that is my opinion on why Jane Austen left out proposal scenes out of some of her novels. What do you think? Do you agree with me? Do you think there was another reason why Jane Austen left out proposal scenes in some of her books? Leave a comment! I'm very interested in what you all think!

Thank you, Melody, for sending in this question! If you have a question you would like to submit for me to do a post on, leave a comment. Just follow these guidelines. It can be about anything related to this blog: period dramas, blogging, reviews, etc.

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 God Bless,

Review: Persuasion (1995)

Finally! I got to watch this version of Persuasion again and review it! I had watched this version of Persuasion on Youtube a long time ago, but when I tried to watch it again recently, it was taken down. So, I went out and bought the DVD (which was a real bargain!) so I have another DVD to add to my collection of Jane Austen DVDs.

DVD Box Art

Synopsis
Synopsis taken from my review of Persuasion (2007)
Eight years ago, Anne Elliot was proposed to by Frederick Wentworth, a poor man who joined the navy, and accepted his proposal but was persuaded by her godmother, Lady Russell, to break off the engagement since Anne would be taking a big risk marrying him. Now twenty-seven and still unmarried, Anne assumes to be an old maid. When Captain Wentworth comes back into her life, having made his fortune in the navy and now looking for a wife, he is very cold to her and she thinks that he cannot forgive her for what she had done eight years ago.

Characters
There were some familiar faces that I noticed as I watched Persuasion. Amanda Root (Anne Elliot) can also be seen in Jane Eyre (1996) as Miss Temple. Ciaran Hinds (Captain Wentworth) can also be seen in Jane Eyre (1997) as Mr. Rochester and Amazing Grace as Lord Tarleton. Sophie Thompson (Mary Musgrove) can also be seen in Emma (1996) as Miss Bates and is also known as being the daughter of fellow Emma actress Phyllida Law and the sister of Sense and Sensibility actress Emma Thompson. Victoria Hamilton (Henrietta Musgrove) can also be seen in Pride and Prejudice (1995) as Mrs. Forster and Lark Rise to Candleford as Ruby Pratt. And Judy Cornwell (Mrs. Musgrove) can also be seen in (though it is not a period drama) series Keeping Up Appearances.

Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth

Amanda Root as Anne was okay. She is probably a little more outspoken than I imagined Anne (which is by no means very outspoken), but I still thought she did a good job as Anne. I loved how the filmmakers put in how all the Musgroves were confiding in Anne about each other, which is actually mentioned in the book that it was what they did.

Captain Wentworth... Well, first of all, let me say that I'm not a fan of Captain Wentworth; I didn't like how he was -- how do I describe it? -- so spiteful to Anne, purposely ignoring her and seeming to intentionally injure her (emotionally). I know, he was upset that she broke his heart, but still, I thought he acted cruelly. That being said, Ciaran Hinds, I thought, looked the part of Captain Wentworth (though maybe a little older than he should have been?). I liked the way he portrayed Captain Wentworth: he was kind of distant of Anne and had the right facial expressions when he was around Anne that showed that he still loved her, but was hurt.

I really did not like Elizabeth Elliot. Not that I was supposed to (how cruelly she treated Anne!), but I don't like this portrayal of her. When I read Persuasion, I got the impression that Elizabeth was a person who would "put on airs" and act superior to everyone: she would act refined all the time, like her nose was high in the air. I did not get this impression of her in this movie: she seemed like she didn't even try to appear genteel. I guess the word to describe her was vulgar. The way she talked was not refined; at the beginning where she was eating -- what was it exactly? chocolates? -- was way too relaxed and not the refined person that she is supposed to act like.

Anne Elliot (Left), Captain Wentworth, and Anne's sister,
Mary Musgrove (Right) on a walk.

Scenery
The scenery is colorful and pleasing to look at. Scenes take place in a multitude of settings. We get a brief glimpse of Kellynch, the home of the Elliots before they let it to the Crofts; the house itself is very nice and big (probably why Sir Walter had to let it). Most of the scenes in the rest of the movie take place at Uppercross (the home of Anne's sister, Mary, and her family), Lyme, and Bath. The scenes at Lyme were very pretty to look at (and I especially liked the beach scene). Bath was also nice to look at, though there was no country scenery to look at.

Music
A good deal of the music featured music that was played on a piano: it was light and bouncy and very pleasing to listen to. The rest of the music also had a lighter tone. There was also a dance number that Anne played on the piano that I recognized from Pride and Prejudice (1995). The music was the other area in which I preferred this version to the 2007 version.

Henrietta Musgrove confiding in Anne. Love
the dress details!

Costuming
Accurate. The costuming of Persuasion is what I would call accurate Regency wear. Women wore chemisettes (an undershirt that showed through the neckline) or fichus during the day for modesty and long gloves for evening wear. Mrs. Musgrove wore Georgian fashions: though after the Georgian era (at least the 1700s part of it), it would make sense for Mrs. Musgrove to wear Georgian fashions in this version of Persuasion because she is an old character. I also noticed a parallel between Henrietta and Louisa Musgrove's red cloaks to Kitty and Lydia Bennet's cloaks in Pride and Prejudice (1995). Both pairs of characters are flirtatious and in some ways similar, so it's kind of funny that they would have the same cloak.

Overall: 3.5/5
On the second viewing, I enjoyed this version of Persuasion a lot more. However, I still prefer the 2007 version. I did like that this version was closer to the book than the 2007 one in that the scenery and music isn't dark like the 2007 version. Though I have a preference to Persuasion 2007, this is still a worthy adaptation that is worth watching.

Persuasion is available on DVD. It is rated PG and runs for 107 minutes.

Persuasion (1995) Banner

Last night, I made another banner. This banner was suggested by Charity from Austenitis. What do you all think?

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 God Bless,

Happy Birthday, Miss Anne Elliot!

Happy Birthday, Anne Elliot!

 At Old-Fashioned Charm, Miss Laurie is celebrating Anne Elliot's birthday today. Take a look over at her blog to see the festivities!


God Bless,
 

Anne Elliot's Birthday Party by Old-Fashioned Charm!

From the beginning of Persuasion:
"Sir Walter Elliot, of Kellynch Hall, in Somersetshire, was a man who, for his own amusement, never took up any book but the Baronetage; there he found occupation for an idle hour, and consolation in a distressed one; there his faculties were roused into admiration and respect, by contemplating the limited remnant of the earliest patents; there any unwelcome sensations, arising from domestic affairs changed naturally into pity and contempt as he turned over the almost endless creations of the last century; and there, if every other leaf were powerless, he could read his own history with an interest which never failed. This was the page at which the favourite volume always opened:

"ELLIOT OF KELLYNCH HALL.

'Walter Elliot, born March 1, 1760, married, July 15, 1784, Elizabeth, daughter of James Stevenson, Esq. of South Park, in the county of Gloucester, by which lady (who died 1800) he has issue Elizabeth, born June 1, 1785; Anne, born August 9, 1787; a still-born son, November 5, 1789; Mary, born November 20, 1791.'"




If you're a fan of Jane Austen and Persuasion, Miss Laurie from Old-Fashioned Charm is holding a blog party for Miss Anne Elliot from Persuasion! Throughout the day, Miss Laurie will have special posts including posts about Regency dance and music, a quiz (fun!), and more! There will also be fun polls to answer and a giveaway! Go check it out!


God Bless,
 

Review: Persuasion (2007)

I watched this version of Persuasion a while ago: half on Youtube, half on Masterpiece Classic (which was shortened and edited). When I first watched it the whole way through, it really didn't make too much of an impression on me. But recently, I re-watched it and have formed a better opinion of it. I guess I noticed more than when I first saw it. I had also recently finished reading Persuasion: it wasn't my favorite Jane Austen book, but I still liked it.

Box Art



Synopsis

Eight years ago, Anne Elliot was proposed to by Frederick Wentworth, a poor man who joined the navy, and accepted his proposal but was persuaded by her godmother, Lady Russell, to break off the engagement since Anne would be taking a big risk marrying him. Now twenty-seven and still unmarried, Anne assumes to be an old maid. When Captain Wentworth comes back into her life, having made his fortune in the navy and now looking for a wife, he is very cold to her and she thinks that he cannot forgive her for what she had done eight years ago.

Characters
Couple of members of the cast I recognized in here. Most notably:  Stella Gonet (Mrs. Musgrove) was Bea Eliott in The House of Eliott, Peter Wight (Admiral Croft) was also in a couple of episodes of Lark Rise to Candleford. I also know that Rupert Penry-Jones (Captain Wentworth) was also in the 1997 adaptation of Jane Eyre, but I had only seen clips of it.

Sally Hawkins as Anne Eliott

Sally Hawkins was absolutely lovely as Anne! I think she really captured Anne's meekness and quietness very well. In Persuasion (the book), a good part of it is what Anne is thinking or feeling: there can be pages of her thoughts and emotions. To illustrate this, the film-makers had Anne keep a journal to write down her feelings, some of which was spoken through a voice-over of Anne. In this case, I think it really worked to do that: they included that part of Persuasion which could be difficult to include and it was done fairly well. Spoiler What I didn't care for was Anne's marathon through Bath at the end. It wasn't at all like the book. She ran out of Camden Place (without a bonnet, by the way), met Mrs. Smith (who should be crippled, yet she was walking; and did anyone else find it kind of funny that her name is Harriet Smith? Any Emma fans out there?) to find out that Mr. Eliott isn't honorable (and added something that included Mrs. Clay that wasn't in the book, at least to my memory), ran to the Croft's residence to find that they had left and Captain Harville gives her Captain Wentworth's famous note, runs to find the Crofts and discovers that Captain Wentworth had just left them, to which she runs a great distance and happens to bump into Charles Musgrove, her brother-in-law, and Captain Wentworth. (Woo... That was confusing). It seemed to be unnecessary to add this whole running escapade; could anyone help thinking "Run, Anne, run!"? End of Spoiler But excepting that part, I think Anne was portrayed very well in here.



Rupert Penry-Jones as Captain Frederick Wentworth

Rupert Penry-Jones's Captain Wentworth... I'm not fully convinced by it, but I'm about 90% convinced. I mean, I didn't hate his Captain Wentworth, but it didn't seem quite right. To me at least, he looked too young (I know Rupert Penry-Jones was actually about 36 or 37 for the role, and Captain Wentworth is supposed to be in his early thirties): it didn't look like he had been in the navy at all. His acting, however, was pretty good. Although Captain Wentworth isn't my favorite Jane Austen hero (he seemed to be purposely trying to ignore/hurt Anne a lot of the time, which I didn't like), but I think overall Rupert Penry-Jones did justice to Captain Wentworth as far as acting goes. I still think they could have made him look more like a Captain Wentworth that had been in the navy and worked hard to get his fortune: here he only looks like he didn't have to work hard to get his fortune.

I really didn't like Anthony Head's Sir Walter. I never pictured Sir Walter as a creepy guy... Arrogant and narcissistic, yes, but not so much creepy. There was something in the way he said lines that made him a little creepy, which isn't the effect you want for Sir Walter. You want to portray him as a caricature of an arrogant narcissistic baronet, and I just don't think that effect was expressed in here. I did think that Elizabeth Elliot was portrayed well: uncaring, selfish, and trying to be fancier than she really is.

Scenery

Good scenery in here, but sometimes it can be a little bleak, especially at Lyme. I didn't care for the darker scenery at Lyme: Persuasion is one of Jane Austen's more serious novels, but I didn't picture it as dark. If they used the darker scenery at Lyme after Anne's sister-in-law, Louisa, gets hurt, it would make sense, but during the whole time? It just didn't seem to fit. The rest of the scenery was very good: the houses were very nicely furnished and there is lovely outdoor, country scenes to be seen.

Lady Dalrymple: notice the hair piece

Costumes
Great costuming! Wonderful costuming! All the dresses looked lovely! My only complaint is towards the end at the concert in Bath, Elizabeth Elliot, Mrs. Clay, and Lady Dalrymple were wearing hair pieces that didn't become popular until the 1830's; I don't think they were even worn in the Regency Era or even in the early 1820s. Other than that, everything seemed pretty accurate to the period.

Music

All the music sounded similar, but it was still very lovely. It really expressed the serious tone of the novel.

Overall: 3.75/5

Left to Right Background: Anne Elliot, Elizabeth Elliot, and
Mary Musgrove. In front: Sir Walter Elliot

Overall, I liked this version of Persuasion. It might not be exact to the book (especially at the end), but I still think that it was still a great film. Sally Hawkins was wonderful as Anne and Rupert Penry-Jones's Captain Wentworth was good. The costuming is very beautiful and a pleasure to look at. The scenery could sometimes be a little bleak, but most scenes are very nice and pretty. I enjoyed this film and wouldn't be sorry to watch it again.

Persuasion is available on DVD either with Sense and Sensibility (2008) in a special collection or on it's own. It runs for 120 minutes.